Three years ago, actor Naseeruddin Shah had said something in an interview which has now got a new life on social media. Talking about the state of Hindi and Indian cinema, the veteran actor argued that men are becoming more insecure, and this insecurity is being masked with hyper-masculine heroes on screen. “Men’s insecurities are increasing, which is why hyper-masculinity is being emphasized even more,” he said.

He was also not soft on naming. Shah admitted that he could not sit RRR Or PushpaFilms that by then had become cultural events rather than mere releases. “I tried to see RRRBut I couldn’t. i tried to see PushpaBut I couldn’t,” he said, adding that beyond the thrill of seeing such spectacle, he couldn’t understand what audiences were getting from him. He made an exception for Mani Ratnam, a filmmaker he described as capable and free of any agenda. His concluding line was one that really stuck: a film that women love will always be successful, and women, he believed, gravitate toward sensitive storytelling rather than muscle and machoness. “I wonder. That’s how many women liked it. RRR,” He said.

That conversation reached its peak in 2023 RRR-flower-animal Wave. So now that this clip is going viral again, it seems worth asking a simple question: has anything really changed? We went back to the box office charts for 2024, 2025, and the first half of 2026 to see whether India’s biggest hits are still built on the same hyper-masculine template that Shah was talking about, or whether the more sensitive cinema he hoped for has also managed to find an audience.

2024: Year of the Alpha Hero

The 2024 figures are almost like a refutation to anyone expecting a change in tastes. Pushpa 2: RulesThe franchise chosen by Shah became the highest-grossing Indian film of the year by earning Rs 1,742.10 crore worldwide. Allu Arjun’s red-sandalwood smuggler, all sweat, swagger and anger, was rewarded more gloriously than ever.

was close behind Kalki 2898 ADWhich earned Rs 1,042.25 crore with the story of a lone hero fighting to save humanity. woman 2 Ranked second with Rs 857.15 crore. maze 3 Completed the big four of the year with Rs 400.25 crore. Interestingly, on the contrary Pushpa 2 And Kalki 2898 ADHowever, woman 2 And maze 3 Horror comedies that rely on an ensemble cast rather than a larger-than-life protagonist show that audiences also embraced the humor and multiple character-driven stories.

2025: The mighty keep winning, but the love story also keeps winning

if it was 2024 Pushpait was 2025 stalwart..Directed by Aditya Dhar, the espionage-action thriller won the hearts of the audience through its high-octane action, larger-than-life heroism and the lead hero who epitomizes strength, courage and resilience. Directed by Ranveer Singh, the film features a classic action hero who overcomes impossible odds and emerges victorious, a trope often associated with hyper-masculine storytelling. The film’s massive success at the box office, earning over Rs 1,300 crore worldwide, not only made it the highest-grossing Indian film of the year, but also strengthened the argument that audiences continue to gravitate towards powerful male-led spectacles.

Rishabh Shetty’s Kantara: Chapter 1 Took second place, crossed Rs 850 crore and comfortably outperformed the original KantaraWhich had earned Rs 408 crore in 2022. The film’s folk-hero mythology, all raw strength and divine fury, is as hyper-masculine as Indian cinema is. Vicky Kaushal’s shade Coming in third with earnings of over Rs 800 crore, a historical drama that relied heavily on chivalry, war and the image of the invincible warrior-king.

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And yet, included in the same list soldierA romance that earned Rs 570.33 crore worldwide without a single sword fight or muscle-showing hero to its name. This is exactly the kind of “sensitive” cinema that Shah said would eventually hit home, and by the end of the year, it had done just that, and outperformed many of the louder, more aggressive films released around it.

2026 so far: More of the same, with a few exceptions

This trend will continue in 2026 as well. Dhurandhar: The Revenge has earned Rs 1,813 crore worldwide, surpassing the success of the original film. border 2The war drama based on patriotism and battlefield bravery has collected Rs 450.19 crore. Meanwhile, Telugu movies pedi And Karuppu Earned Rs 338.98 crore and Rs 310.07 crore respectively. Like many of the biggest hits of recent years, these films are driven by larger-than-life heroes, action-packed storylines, and powerful male heroes who dominate the narrative.

So, was he right?

If we look at the figures, Naseeruddin Shah’s argument is quite accurate. Look at the twelve biggest Indian hits of these three years, and at least nine of them are built around an ultra-masculine central figure: a smuggler, a soldier, a spy, a warrior-king, a folk deity, or a sci-fi savior. The commercial logic of Indian cinema, at least at the top of the charts, still runs on spectacle, dominance and the thrill of watching one man dominate everything in his path, which is exactly what Shah meant when he talked about presenting vulnerability as strength.

But his second prediction also deserves equal credit. He said that sensitive films will still find their audience, and Syara is proof that they can do so, and in a very beautiful way. woman 2 And maze 3While not devoid of spectacle, it also shows that comedy and collective storytelling can hold their own against single-hero action. The pattern is not complete, and it never really was; Shah himself indicated a wednesday As an example of a hit film without a traditional powerful hero. The last three years have confirmed that there has been less a complete takeover by hyper-masculinity and more a division of the market down the middle: the largest number still favor the alpha hero, but there is real space and real money in films that do not need it.